Drinking alleged in collision

Saturday

Oct 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM

LODI - The man believed to have caused a catastrophic collision that killed six people Tuesday in Lodi is a convicted felon who may have been driving drunk at the time of the crash, according to court documents obtained Friday.

Jason Anderson

LODI - The man believed to have caused a catastrophic collision that killed six people Tuesday in Lodi is a convicted felon who may have been driving drunk at the time of the crash, according to court documents obtained Friday.

In a search warrant affidavit filed Thursday in San Joaquin County Superior Court, investigators identified the driver as Ryan Christopher Morales, 28. Morales, a Lodi resident, was released from San Quentin State Prison in early September after serving time for evading police while driving recklessly in Alameda County, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

The affidavit alleges that Morales and his father began drinking about 4 p.m. Tuesday. They consumed 750 milliliters of apple-flavored vodka before Morales left their Mariposa Way residence in a tan 2002 GMC Yukon, police said.

Morales was traveling south on South Ham Lane near West Vine Street at 5:21 p.m. when his SUV collided with a 1998 Ford F-150 occupied by a man, his pregnant wife and their four children, authorities said. Witnesses said Morales ran a red light while speeding and using a cellphone.

Those killed in the crash were Luis Miranda Ochoa, 32; Viviana Rodriguez Salgado, 31, and her unborn child; Irvin Miranda, 12; Jose Luis Miranda Rodriguez, 6; and Stephanie Miranda, 5. The only occupant of the Ford pickup who survived the collision was Eden Miranda, 9, who remains hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

Six vehicles were involved in the collision, and a total of 12 people were injured or killed, authorities said. Additional victims of the crash included Antonio Romero, 59, and three juvenile passengers who were treated for minor injuries; Anthony Fuso, 54, who had a minor complaint of pain; and Maria Sosa, 54, who was uninjured, police said.

According to the affidavit, a police officer found Morales pinned in his vehicle following the collision. The officer detected the smell of alcohol while speaking to Morales, who was taken to a Sacramento hospital, where he remained in critical condition Friday, said Lt. Sierra Brucia, a spokesman for the Lodi Police Department.

When contacted by police at their home, Morales' mother and father admitted Morales had been drinking that day, police said. Officers located an empty 750-milliliter bottle of vodka in a garbage can in the garage, where Morales and his father were drinking and playing pingpong earlier in the day, his parents told authorities. Officers also discovered 10 other empty bottles of apple-flavored vodka in the same garbage can, authorities said.

Morales was living in a trailer in the driveway at his parents' home, about a mile away from the crash site, his mother told police. Morales is on post-release community supervision and is being supervised by the San Joaquin County Probation Department as a transfer from Alameda County, police said.

Morales could be charged with gross vehicular manslaughter if police determine the collision occurred as a result of his negligence, Brucia said. Investigators have consulted with the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office in recent days, but they have not yet submitted the case for review, Brucia said.

Police have served three search warrants as part of their investigation, and more are expected, Brucia said.

Lodi Police Chief Mark Helms will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Monday in the Pisano Room at Hutchins Street Square to provide an update on the investigation, Brucia said.